The present invention is directed to vehicle transportation systems, and more particularly, to modules for receiving vehicles for transportation by common carrier.
Standard-sized freight containers are often used when transporting motorized vehicles, such as cars, trucks, sport utility vehicles and the like. Once the vehicles are mounted in the freight containers, the containers can be loaded on trains, barges, truck chasses and other transportation systems. When vehicles are transported inside a container, it is, of course, desired to minimize damage imparted to the vehicles by the container. The standard-sized freight containers used to transport vehicles are relatively narrow, typically having a width of about 8 feet. Thus, when a vehicle is placed into such a container, typically by driving them into the container, it may be difficult for a driver to open the vehicle door and exit the vehicle and container without damaging the vehicle. The lack of clearance between vehicle and container increases the chances of damaging vehicles during vehicle loading and unloading operations. It is also difficult for a worker to access a vehicle stored in such a container in order to secure the vehicle in the container, or to walk by the vehicle without contacting the vehicle.
Space is at a premium in transportation systems, and since standard freight containers are not optimally sized to receive vehicles such containers include much wasted space when transporting vehicles. For example, standard freight containers have a height of either 8′ 6″, or 9′ 6″, and vehicles typically have a height of between about 4′ 11″ and about 6′ 6″, which means that there is usually a large amount of unutilized space located over the roofs of the vehicles after they are loaded into a standard container. The containers are often stacked on top of each other, which compounds the wasted vertical space.
To address this problem, systems have been developed which stack or otherwise arrange two layers of vehicles within a single freight container. These containers can be either generally open containers that lack side walls or closed containers having side walls. However, stacking two layers of vehicles requires additional machinery, power and time, all of which contribute to increased shipping costs. The vehicles can also be easily damaged during the stacking and/or arranging operations, and the open containers often do not provide adequate protection from the elements. Furthermore, it can be difficult to load and unload vehicles into standard freight containers. Typically, a ramp must be attached to the container to guide the driven vehicles into the container, or machinery must be used to load the vehicles, which further complicates the loading process. When a ramp is used, it extends rearwardly of the container, and thereby requires additional space on the loading surface.
Accordingly, there is a need for a vehicle transportation module that is specifically sized and designed to receive vehicles such that wasted space within the module is minimized. There is also a need for a vehicle transportation module which can be quickly and easily loaded and unloaded, while minimizing damage to the vehicles.